Work dilemma, hourly-salaried-employee leaves early but still gets paid.

[beaujolais]

I need opinions/advise on this please. Sorry this is long, but some of it is interesting, so please go with it.

I work with "Amy". She holds the same position as I but has been in "the inner circle" for a long time. Note that we are Union and paid by hourly salary. We both hold full time positions there.

Back awhile ago, before we got a good manager (although slightly ineffective), word was (from another employee who said he saw proof), than Amy and a few of her "inner circle" friends were taking days off and not getting charged for it. Amy was best friends with the woman in our department who does payroll, conveniently.

Fortunately, a year or so we got a better manager but the person who used to payroll still does it sometimes.

"Amy" has been leaving a half-hour early a few times a month and not punching out. This is convenient for them to say she forgot to punch and pay her for the full day. She "leaves early" usually before she is taking a vacation, has relatives coming or things like that.

I''ve only been looking at her time card, which is near mine, in the hallway, on the wall, for the past few times. She doesn''t punch out. I bet they are paying her for the full day. Any of us would have been asked to punch out. This is usually on days when the good new manager is out and the old crooked one (who is no longer really a manager but still does payroll on occasion is in). Convenient, eh?

Also, note that for a good few months "Amy" added into her workday a half-hour break to go walking outside with the old corrupt manager. No one else was given/doing this as we only get 1/2 hour lunch break. But, after "Amy" and "Corrupt" came in from walking, the would then take their half hour lunch. I ended up quashing this as I addressed it with our two newer better managers and there was no way they could not fix it, so they did. Now, poor Amy doesn''t get to go out walking.

Another one is that one day I had to stay a bit late. I got stuck in a case and could not leave. I put in for 1/2 hr. overtime. Next day I walk into a conversation of old slimy manager asking new good (usually) but ineffective manager if she should pay me for it. He says "no". Next day I readdress this with the new manager. I tell him, "I know you are on an austerity budget but it''s illegal to not pay people for the hours the work." The next paycheck I do get paid for it.

Her new way of "slime-ing" seems to be to go home early, on occasion. (No one else does this.)

I gently brought this up with our "good" manager who said she''s being charged for the time. I was not quick enough to say, though, how come she doesn''t punch out, in that instance, and we have to.

Also, I''m sure I''m not supposed to be checking her time card, so I wanted to downplay that a bit.

Amy is a "b%^#h", btw, and a lazy slug. If she were not like that, I might not care so much.

So, who do I address this with:

1. Nice but not too effective local manager, who brushed it off once.

2. His superior, who is in on occasion, also a nice guy and easy to deal with. Most likely would care more about looking into this, I think.

3. I''d really love to blow the top off of it and go to the Payroll Manager of this large company but I''ve seen these things sometimes backfire, somehow.

Yes, I know you do follow the "chain-of-command". Yes, I do know I should not be checking her time card but I smelled a fraud. I''m not sure how mad they would be for checking her time card and how that fits in.

I really am not a pot-stirrer but "Amy" is a real "B" and that is probably why I want to pursue this.

How should I handle this?

Thanks so very much, Dear Friends.

(Oh, I am so mad about this.)

 

[honey22]

I would be furious too, but when the bottom line is, it''s none of your business what your collegues are doing and if they are getting paid correctly for it. It''s up to your supervisors to police this type of thing. If anything, you could try leaving early a bit and if they call you on it, explain that Amy does it all the time and you thought it was acceptable. But short of that, there is really nothing else you can do? If you complain you look like a winer, and it may not help your situation. Is it worth stiring the pot to get your revenge? This could totally backfire on you sweetie. Hugs

 

[arjunajane]

Hrmmmm..definately a tough call Sonoma - sorry you are having to deal with
"Amy", she reminds me of some of my ex-coworkers

It''s difficult to say what you should do without knowing the culture of your workplace,
however I can say if it were me I would likely dob her in.
It''s not fair and I presume her leaving early heaps extra work on others?
I suggest going to whoever you think has the most vested interest in the company''s bottom line - after all, she is effectively stealing from the company by being dishonest on her time card.
If you''ve already approached number 1, and he brushed it off, I say go to number 2. (as long as you''re confident that won''t cause animosity from no.1?)..

If her card is next to yours in the hallway and not in a draw or a secured place where you shouldn''t be looking at it, I couldn''t imagine they would be too upset with you glancing at it..

whatever you decide, I wish you luck. I know how much a sucky co-worker can drag down your time at work

 

[Sabine]

I know it can be infuriating to see other employees get special treatment, but if I were you, I would honestly just try to let it go.

Also, sometimes there can be more to the story than you know. I''ll give you an example:

Now, this was my high school part time job, but I worked with the same company and the same managers for 3 years and even moved to a new location with them when it opened even though it was a longer drive for me because they asked me to help them get it up and started. Then I went to college, and I continued to come back and work for the same company over breaks/holidays, etc., and basically I was the most senior employee they had (this was the kind of company that hired lots of high schoolers who would quit often or just stop showing up, etc.) and I was also the one they would call to come in whenever someone just didn''t show, etc.

Every year we got christmas bonuses. On my second to last year, the owner decided to give raises instead of christmas bonus. But the raises only went to those who had been working for a certain period of time. The way he worked it, I didn''t get the raise because I had worked only on school breaks. I was upset and complained to my managers, and they felt it was really unfair as well. So the manager who did the time cards/payroll decided that he would help me log a few extra hours to make up for the fact that I didn''t get the raise. So basically, for that year, I didn''t punch out during breaks or when I left at the end of the shift, and he would punch out for me to add a few extra hours. The other employees were not aware of what exactly was going on, but I''m sure they noticed me not punching out and wondered about it. Now, I realize it was pretty shady for the manager to do this, but all the managers knew about it and supported it because they really didn''t want me to leave.

So my point is, even though you might think you know exactly what is going on, if you press the issue you might end up in the middle of something more complicated. Maybe if the opportunity comes up, you can bring it up in passing...like if you''re leaving and Amy is leaving an a manager is near, say, Amy, did you forget to punch out? or something, but I wouldn''t break the chain of command.

 

[beaujolais]

Thanks so very, very, very much all.

Honey, thanks. You say to be safe. O.K., I'm considering that approach. Oh, it's not a job where I could just leave early without getting it o.k. It's in healthcare.

A.J. - owner of that Awesome cushion. Cards are unsecured and hanging on a rack on the wall. I do have to lift hers up a bit to see the hours. I feel slimy doing it but I'm tired of her slime-ing us. I thought it would be gone with the new managers. Not. You say - go get em. Oh, I want to.

Sabine (great name, btw) - Oh, I'm one who often considers that there could be more than meets the eye. That occurs a lot in life, actually. Thanks for reminding me of that. As we are union, other things are pretty regulated. It's been years of her getting "special treatment" for some reason though. And it's not like she's a nice/warm person/good worker or anything. She just sucked up to the right people.

Thanks again, everyone, so much. I was up last night for a bit because of being mad about it. You all did help me diffuse and process this. I haven't decided yet. I'm hoping to get more responses and speak to one of my friends who is away. I like to get others opinions first to get a check on if my thinking is rational or not. Thanks so much.

 

[steph72276]

Although difficult to do, I would just let it go and focus on doing the best I could do at my own job. There are always going to be lazy people or people that take advantage of the system at any job. That''s just how some people are. Hopefully when it comes to promotions, your dedication will trump her laziness and you will benefit. I think if you say anything further, you are just going to sound like a complainer and a snoop.

 

[makemepretty]

Keep in mind that life is not fair.

Do not waste your energy, thoughts or anger on her situation. All you are doing is frustrating yourself and wasting your time. I do not think you should handle this at all. It will only make YOU look bad for trying to get her in trouble. This is something her superiors need to figure out on their own IMHO and they will. I know you could speed this up but it''s really really not something you should get involved in. While your boss MIGHT appreciate it, the people you work with won''t trust you as much.

 

[icekid]

sonoma- While I can certainly understand why this is annoying, it is really none of your business. I would let it go. Life is way too short to get worked up over some lazy slug

If she is really doing a terrible job, someone will notice eventually.

Plus, if I were your manager, all of your complaints about this lady might make me wonder why you are out to get her. Not to mention it might make your co-workers highly unpleasant to be around if they find out what you are doing. Concentrate on doing your job well and ignore the crap going on around you.

 

[April20]

I worked with someone like this a few years back. Slightly different situation, but at the end of the day, the outcome was the same. They were "stealing" time from the company. I brought up disappearing acts as you did and that eventually led to other people noticing she when she wasn''t around or left early. It took a LONG time, but eventually the situation was fully addressed and fixed.

You''re right in not bringing up her time card. That can get you in huge amounts of trouble I think. I hate to say it, but you may just have to wait it out and continue to drop hints as you can and hope it makes your manager realize they need to be more aware of what "Amy" is doing.

 

[beaujolais]

Oh, actually all my co-workers are mad about it also. But, they are all afraid to say anything. I know they wouldn''t support us getting together and addressing it with management, though. They''d be too scared.

 

[Lilac]

Date: 7/26/2009 9:00:02 AM
Author: icekid
sonoma- While I can certainly understand why this is annoying, it is really none of your business. I would let it go. Life is way too short to get worked up over some lazy slug

If she is really doing a terrible job, someone will notice eventually.

Plus, if I were your manager, all of your complaints about this lady might make me wonder why you are out to get her. Not to mention it might make your co-workers highly unpleasant to be around if they find out what you are doing. Concentrate on doing your job well and ignore the crap going on around you.

+1. I think it''s understandable that you''re upset about it - it would make me very upset too. But in this case, I think it''s in your best interests to just try to let it go and hope one day the higher-ups realize what''s going on and address it.

 

[neatfreak]

None of your business-let it go.

 

[phoenixgirl]

I wouldn't say anything. I think you'll come across looking like a tattle-tale. You already got them to nix her walks.

In my experience, people like Amy usually get what they deserve in the end.

It's frustrating to see other people get the same rewards, pay, or recognition who aren't pulling their weight, but if it's not Amy, it's going to be someone else. My dad always said that 20% of the people do 80% of the work, and that's definitely true of high school teachers. The union structure tries to keep that from happening, but I'm afraid many people look to do as little as possible; Amy is just more successful in this current situation because of her friendships, but once the crooked manager is promoted/transferred or leaves, she'll be SOL. The tide can change quickly (but so too can the tide change against you if you rub important people the wrong way with your complaints about Amy).

This isn't your battle to fight since it isn't directly affecting you. If you had to do her job for her, then it'd be a different story. You've basically admitted that your motivation is that Amy is a B, so I don't think you can chalk this up to you being oh so worried about the company losing half an hour here and there from her. I'm sure other colleagues stay from bell to bell but manage to be less productive than you or others . . . what are you going to do, start rating everyone's productivity and complaining about who is doing less work than you? It is the management's duty to assess productivity and compliance with company procedures, and if they don't, then perhaps you want to look for work elsewhere, but if you try to do it yourself, chances are you'll be the one who looks bad.

If we leave more than an hour early, we are supposed to take a half day. A lot of people don't and just ask colleagues to cover for them. It is definitely annoying to see someone getting to leave three hours early without taking a half day while I leave 60 minutes early and still take one even though I don't have a class that period. But there's really nothing I can do other than follow the rules myself and say no when somebody asks me to cover their class during my free period so they don't have to take time off. One guy kept asking me to cover his class because he was a volunteer coach, and I kept saying no. Finally I complained to the Activities Director who I thought was being remiss in providing this guy the coverage that coaches need. Well, the AD told me that this guy didn't need to leave early because he wasn't on the payroll as a coach and that's why he wasn't given coverage, but instead of telling him no the AD said, well, if you can find someone to cover you can leave early . . . My point is that it turned out there was more to the story, and it was just as much the AD's fault for suggesting he find his own coverage as it was the coach's fault for thinking I should give up a considerable percentage of my planning period so he could get to the games on time. You really don't know who has said what to Amy about when she can leave.

 

[KimberlyH]

Date: 7/26/2009 9:00:02 AM
Author: icekid
sonoma- While I can certainly understand why this is annoying, it is really none of your business. I would let it go. Life is way too short to get worked up over some lazy slug

If she is really doing a terrible job, someone will notice eventually.

Plus, if I were your manager, all of your complaints about this lady might make me wonder why you are out to get her. Not to mention it might make your co-workers highly unpleasant to be around if they find out what you are doing. Concentrate on doing your job well and ignore the crap going on around you.

+2. Life is filled with inequities and it isn''t always up to us to fight them. The boss has a responsibility to check timecards, etc. and your bringing this to their attention, especially after already addressing an issue you had with this woman''s performance, will seem vindictive.

 

[UCLABelle]

I 100% feel for you as I am in a NEARLY IDENTICAL work situation right now i.e. co-worker (who shares the same duties) missing work and counting the days, or bringing her son by the office for 30 minutes and counting the whole day (however, the co-worker just went on "disability" for "stress" OMFG). However, our supervisor is VERY supportive of her (VERY VERY VERY) and everytime I mention anything remotely negative about her/situation, I get "told a lesson". So I would leave it alone. I don''t like that advice, but it is the only advice I can give, based on my situation.

 

[MonkeyPie]

Date: 7/26/2009 8:41:39 AM
Author: steph72276
Although difficult to do, I would just let it go and focus on doing the best I could do at my own job. There are always going to be lazy people or people that take advantage of the system at any job. That''s just how some people are. Hopefully when it comes to promotions, your dedication will trump her laziness and you will benefit. I think if you say anything further, you are just going to sound like a complainer and a snoop.

Ditto this. I have always had at least one co-worker that was an asshat and would abuse the system with no punishments. At my last job, I left after 4 years and the guy was still getting paid for work he didn''t do, not doing what he was supposed to, stealing the "easy" work from others, and so on. Sometimes people just get away with murder, for no logical reason. Stop looking at her card - it will just keep you angry. Trust me, the time you have spent worrying about it is not worth it.

 

[junebug17]

Date: 7/26/2009 10:58:53 AM
Author: Lilac

Date: 7/26/2009 9:00:02 AM
Author: icekid
sonoma- While I can certainly understand why this is annoying, it is really none of your business. I would let it go. Life is way too short to get worked up over some lazy slug

If she is really doing a terrible job, someone will notice eventually.

Plus, if I were your manager, all of your complaints about this lady might make me wonder why you are out to get her. Not to mention it might make your co-workers highly unpleasant to be around if they find out what you are doing. Concentrate on doing your job well and ignore the crap going on around you.

+1. I think it''s understandable that you''re upset about it - it would make me very upset too. But in this case, I think it''s in your best interests to just try to let it go and hope one day the higher-ups realize what''s going on and address it.

I agree 100% with icekid and lilac, well said!

 

[treefrog]

Hi Sonoma,

That simply is not right. I can see how anybody without those extra "perks" would be upset, frustrated, and feel slighted.

I''m going with the majority here. Let it go. It sounds like you are a faithful and dedicated worker and that will pay off for you in the long run.

The co-worker... well what goes around comes around... eventually.

As hard is it is for you to see that going on, forget about her and hold your head up high knowing you actually have values and ethics. It will pay off for you in other ways.

Treefrog

 

[Richard Sherwood]

Just do the very best job you can, and don''t worry about others that are "slacking". The law of natural selection will take care of them eventually.

For a minute try to imagine your efforts backfiring, and you find yourself without a job in this economy. Would it have been worth it?

 

[beaujolais]

Thanks all. So very, very, very, very much.

I''m really grateful for all your responses. O.K., so I''ll let it go then.

You all have really made me feel at peace and o.k. with this. It helps to know I''m not the only one who has a situation like this.

Again, I can''t tell you how much I appreciate each and every word from all of you. REALLY.

Big thanks and big hugs to each of you, my dear friends.

 

[purrfectpear]

Not your business, as has been pointed out.

That said, you mention you are a unionized employee. If so, then you have very clearly defined work rules. Where is your union steward? If that''s one of the people involved then you REALLY don''t want to push the issue. YOU will end up being eliminated.

 

[HollyS]

You already tried ''chain of command''. They looked the other way.

Go up the ladder. She''s cheating the company/organization/whatever she works for. And by extension, you. So don''t sit still for it. Ask for a meeting with manager #2, the guy you think will care.

Personally, I''m not adverse to making a stink about anyone receiving privileges/pay that no one else gets, and they don''t deserve anyway, based upon their day-to-day performance. Particularly if I had had to ''point out'' that withholding my legitimate overtime pay was illegal. I''d be spoilin'' for a fight about now, if I were you.

 

[monarch64]

I don''t think it''s right to look at another employee''s time card and worry about what she''s doing, but Holly does bring up a good point when she says that this Amy woman is indeed stealing from the company (time theft) and it does indirectly affect you. I would say ignore it, but the "natural selection" process of her getting busted could take months or years, meanwhile you''re sitting there still frustrated when you''re not breaking rules. Not cool. Unfair? Yes, but we all know life isn''t fair. Still, not cool. If I were you, I would try to find an anonymous way of dealing with the situation. Send an anonymous typed note to whoever is in charge of Amy and also a copy to other parties as a backup. See what happens. If nothing, then drop it. If you''re seriously unhappy working there then start looking for another place of employment, because if you''ve explored all the avenues, and nothing changes, it will never change.

 

[NakedFinger]

Sorry to be blunt, but I think you should stop worrying about other people and just focus on yourself. If you come to work and do your job and are an honest person, then thats all you can ask for. If you consume yourself with what everyone else is doing you will drive yourself nuts. Truth is, being lazy, leaving early, etc effects one's job performance. So its only a matter of time. Amy will get hers in the end.

 

[steph72276]

Date: 7/26/2009 7:34:52 PM
Author: HollyS
You already tried ''chain of command''. They looked the other way.


Go up the ladder. She''s cheating the company/organization/whatever she works for. And by extension, you. So don''t sit still for it. Ask for a meeting with manager #2, the guy you think will care.


Personally, I''m not adverse to making a stink about anyone receiving privileges/pay that no one else gets, and they don''t deserve anyway, based upon their day-to-day performance. Particularly if I had had to ''point out'' that withholding my legitimate overtime pay was illegal. I''d be spoilin'' for a fight about now, if I were you.

Yep, and then as soon as she does that, they will probably be looking for any excuse to get rid of her for being a trouble maker. Any one time you are late, etc. will probably become a huge deal. I don''t agree at all with this idea.

 

[cindygenit]

I don''t think you should pursue this. It sucks that Amy is a biatch and she takes time off. But you are her equal in the workplace and i don''t think you should be a snitch. JMHO. She will get what is coming to her eventually, trust me.

 

[KimberlyH]

In principle I absolutely agree with Holly, but having been in a similar situation and learning the hard way that sometimes things just aren''t the way they should be and fighting the injustice often only makes things more difficult for the person being treated unfairly I''ve decided it''s not a battle I would fight again. It''s unfortunate, but it''s served me well to focus on doing my job very well and not worrying about what is going on around me.